Program will nurture minority kids

Monday

Mar 3, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Clive McFarlane TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

On Friday, in a television interview, an African-American author and journalist fired a skeptical shot across the bow of My Brother's Keeper, President Barack Obama's initiative in support of young African-American and Latino youths.

With funding and research from major corporations and foundations, the initiative looks to identify and replicate programs that have a track record of helping young people succeed. The participating corporations and foundations are already spending $150 million on such programs, and are committed to spending $200 million more over the next five years.

Esther Armah noted, however, that the fundamental challenge faced by young men of color cannot be fixed by programs.

"We do not deal with economic inequality through programs," she said. "Inequality is met with policy, not philanthropy."

She is correct to the extent that the greatest threat to young men of color is the hostile terrain on which many of them are raised.

The reality, as Attorney General Eric Holder pointed out, is that young men of color are more likely than their white peers to land in a police precinct for school offenses that should best be handled in the principal's office.

The reality, according to an American Civil Liberties Union report, is that while blacks and whites used marijuana at the same rate, blacks are four times more likely to be prosecuted for it.

The reality, according to federal data, is that African-American students are suspended and expelled at a rate that is more than three times that of their white peers, with nonviolent offenses such as disruption, disrespect, tardiness and dress code violations accounting for some 95 percent of out-of-school suspensions.

So, yes, changing or implementing polices that address such inequality should be a top priority, and the good news is the president is not blind to this. The Affordable Care Act, the reform of mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws and new national guidelines on school discipline are among policies he has enacted that will, for the better, have direct and indirect impacts on the lives of young men of color.

But while policy changes hold the promise for a long lasting, far-reaching remedy to economic inequality, young men of color ought to be taught how to survive in a world that, as the president noted, is not as forgiving as the one in which he grew up.

"When I made a mistake the consequences were not as severe," the president said. "I had people who encouraged me — not just my mom and grandparents, but wonderful teachers and community leaders — and they'd push me to work hard and study hard and make the most of myself. And if I didn't listen they said it again. And if I didn't listen they said it a third time. And they would give me second chances, and third chances. They never gave up on me, and I didn't give up on myself."

The My Brother's Keeper initiative will help nurture a similar caring environment, but as the president also noted, "no matter how much the community chips in, it is ultimately going to be up to these young men and all the young men who are out there to step up and seize responsibility for their own lives."

It means young people must learn to control the things they can control — applying themselves in school, avoiding behavior that puts them in harm's way, and not allowing the injustices they face to dampen their will to persevere.

No, it is not an easy road, because they will have to persevere on an act of faith — the expectation that society will fairly reward their due diligence.